:::: Stripped out the all-caps and put double brackets around the Merit Badges. What to do with it now? [[User:Scouterdennis|Scouterdennis]] 10:49, March 13, 2008 (EDT)

:::: Stripped out the all-caps and put double brackets around the Merit Badges. What to do with it now? [[User:Scouterdennis|Scouterdennis]] 10:49, March 13, 2008 (EDT)

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:::: The only difference between this list and the one at [[Work Sheet for Building a Merit Badge Counselor List]] is that Theater is listed under Arts and Crafts instead of Communications. [[User:Scouterdennis|Scouterdennis]] 10:58, March 13, 2008 (EDT)

Contents

Okay, Swim4lyfe, Epmatsw, et al...

Let me know what you think that could make this better. (I know you can.)

The Status could be: Active, Discontinued, or Renamed (from, not to)

The difference is (well, used to be), you couldn't earn the same Merit Badge NUMBER(!) twice, regardless of it's name, or revision date, or whatever. If a Merit Badge is re-written -and- the number changes, you could earn them both. However, if the numbers were different, you could earn them both. E.g., Atomic Energy was re-written and renamed to Nuclear Science; but, the number (BSA Advancement ID) remained the same... In such instances, you could only earn one of the two, but not both. This used to be a problem; but, with all the Merit Badge changes over the last few years, it's no longer an issue. (I might have gotten this backwards; but, you get the idea.) --RWSmith(Sysop), 06:27, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

I can clarify that- you cannot earn the same merit badge number- only merit badges of different numbers, including Atomic Energy/Nuclear Science and Firemanship/Fire Safety. However, discontinued merit badges with different numbers may still be earned. Also- merit badges that were pre-1987 (I think) and do not have assigned numbers may also be earned, regardless of reason of discontinuation ("Textile" and "Textiles" can both be earned as seperate merit badges, even though the only difference is the dropping of the 's'). Swim4lyfe 19:52, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

That's good information to know. I seem to recall hearing that somewhere before. Even so, I'd like to get a reference, because... Let's just keep in mind that anything we put on the wiki, particularly in the Main namespace, must be verifiable. --RWSmith(Sysop), 00:51, September 7, 2007 (EDT)

Mmm it was on a USScouts page... I can't find the link right now; lemme find something official. Swim4lyfe 21:45, September 7, 2007 (EDT)

Eagle-required

Will be automatically included in the silver template (only), so we won't have to worry about it. --RWSmith(Sysop), 06:40, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

Blank fields

I was hoping we could add parser functions so we could blank out (completely hide) unused fields, which would be great for discontinued Merit Badges, or new Merit Badges, or renamed... yada, yada. --RWSmith(Sysop), 06:27, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

That looks a little too complicated for me... Sorry; I'm more of a writer than a coder. Thanks for the link though; I'll see what I can do.

Previous requirements

Clicking on the link will take the user to a subpage where the previous requirements can be located. --RWSmith(Sysop), 06:35, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

The help link

Will take the User to a help page that explains the terms and when/how to use which set of requirements. --RWSmith(Sysop), 06:35, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

More ideas???

I'm currently in the process of drafting a resource page that includes every discontinued merit badge in existence, including the ones from 1910. I'll post a link in my userpage when I'm done. Swim4lyfe 19:56, September 6, 2007 (EDT)

Also- concerning the template, how about adding a "discontinued" date as well for the discontinued badges? I can work on that template this weekend.